Thanks' for the review, Freya39! ^^ I promise you that Lily will be tugging at Eric's strings far too many times for his liking :P Also, this chapter is out so soon, cause I was inspired to update by the reviews and the fact there were people who added this story to their favorites and alerts! . Review and the updates will be quicker! Mwhahahaha. Anyways, there is no Eric in this one, but there will be plenty of him in the next chapter, which I will post up tomorrow, most probably. Enjoy!

It has already been a week since I came to Bon Temps. I and Sookie befriended each other really quick, just like I predicted, and we spent quite a lot of time together. It was kind of eerie how well we got on. But, I had to admit that she was a charming young woman, perhaps lacking a bit of self-confidence sometimes. For some reason, she seemed rather unsure about her boyfriend, even mysterious. Yet, her eyes lit up whenever she was talking about him and I knew she was deeply in love with him.

And talking about Sookie's boyfriend, I had yet to meet him. Sookie didn't talk of him that much, just how happy she was with him, no matter what hardships befell them. And whenever she spoke about him, a warm feeling would envelope my chest for I could feel how much joy this relationship gave her. Love was surely a feeling worth cherishing. At least, for those who could feel it. I myself have never experienced it, even though I've walked this earth for a few thousands years. In reality, love was something unachievable to something like me. After all, how could I promise myself to one man? That would go against my very nature. And even if I did, what would I feed on? One man is not enough to satiate my hunger. It was just impossible for me. And so, I did not contemplate on the complicated matters of love. My game was seduction and temptation. And that, my dearest, is way different from love.

But let's go back to Sookie's boyfriend. I sure was curious to meet him and when I did, he was all but what I was expecting him to be.

We both were working on a late night shift again and Sookie was as happy as she could be. When I asked her about the reason, she grinned contently from ear to ear and told me that tonight I just might meet her boyfriend Bill. I chuckled and said I'd been looking forward to this for quite some time now.

The night went on rather smoothly and I had almost forgotten about the infamous Bill, especially when a new particular customer went in. Some of the clients glanced his way and then returned to their conversations grumbling, while some of the others totally ignored him. As for me, I felt him right away. Or rather, did not.

He was dead. Dead as one can be. Staring at him from my place at the bar I could not feel even a slightest drop of life force in him, which could mean only one thing – either he was a demon, a zombie or a vampire. Seeing as he didn't stink as a demon; looked way smarter than a zombie and was as pale as chalk, I quickly deduced he was a vampire. Great, isn't it? As if I didn't have enough of his race in Shreveport.

As I contemplated on the purpose of him being in such a little secluded town, I saw Sookie practically run towards him and give him a loving hug. Wait a minute… did I just say loving? Oh, yes. I didn't even have to read her aura or mood to tell she was on cloud number nine. For a while I just questioned her odd behaviour until Sookie herself motioned for me to come and so I did.

"Lily," she grabbed my arm, a smile plastered across her face. "Remember I told you that you might meet Bill today?"

"Yeah?" I asked warily and then suddenly it dawned on me. Oh, shit. "No, no, no… Don't tell me… No way…"

"Yep, this is Bill," Sookie motioned to the dark haired vampire guy. "The one and only."

"Nice to meet you," the vampire said, trying to sound as polite as he could, which must have taken some effort on his part, and I sighed heavily.

"You hooked up with a vampire? Were there no decent LIVING men around?" I asked, stressing the word living.

The atmosphere got heavy and hostile immediately as Sookie jumped in to protect her one and only, "You have something against vampires?"

I looked at her and let out a heavy sigh.

"Not really. Just… they're dead. And I repeat – dead. It's nothing personal though," I reassured, glancing at Bill. "Just preferences. I'm sure not all vampires are like the ones I happened to meet. Somehow, my run-ins with them never end this sweetly."

"Oh," Sookie glanced at me questioningly, calming down.

Bill was more curious than her though as he asked immediately. "How so?"

I shrugged. "Meh, the last vampire I was unfortunate enough to meet was one…" I paused to take my time for choice of words. "Overly cocky and arrogant bloodsucking piece of utterly dead meat that dared to show no regard or respect to women whatsoever!"

When I finished the bar was completely silent, Sookie was literally gaping at me and Bill just stared baffled and slightly amused.

"You have an interesting friend," he finally said and Sookie laughed nervously.

I smiled at him, "Sorry, I meant no offense. I'm sure there are normal and respectful vampires too. It's just that I wouldn't know cause I'm simply not interested in your kind."

"You're not interested in vampires?" Sookie asked me surprised.

"Not even one bit," I replied firmly for it was completely true.

"Wow," Sookie muttered. "You must be the first human to ever say this so assuredly."

"You might change your opinion when you meet some more of us," Bill noted.

I glanced at him, thinking for a while and then shook my head. "Doubt it. There's nothing a vampire can offer to me."

"What about blood?" Bill questioned. "Sex?"

"Your blood is overrated and sex… well, already did that," I replied nonchalantly with a shrug of my shoulders. "Not that amazing, I must say. I've had better."

Bill merely stared at me baffled and Sookie gaped once more as if she found it hard to believe my words, whispering to me, "You've had sex with a vampire before?"

"I only look the innocent type," I winked at her as I turned around to leave. "I'll take over your tables for a while, Sookie. You take your time with Bill."

Sookie stared after her newest friend Lily with slight disbelief. Sure, she knew not all humans were crazy about vampires, but all of them were curious about these undead beings one way or another. She herself had her own reasons for loving Bill and having remembered that, she smiled at her lover, lowering her mental shields, listening into his mind. Silence. Complete and utter silence.

That's what she loved about Bill the most – his silence. Actually, she couldn't hear any vampire's thoughts, though sometimes she did catch some images. Sookie was just glad she still could hear nothing of Bill's thoughts.

She talked to Bill for a few minutes and then rose up, heading to the bar to resume her work. Just midway she remembered she forgot to put up her mental shields that she always used to block the minds of other people. She grumbled somewhat irritated ignoring the bothersome thoughts of the local drunkard, when suddenly she felt a strange feeling gush over her. A warm and soothing feeling, tingling all of her sensations. The thoughts and inner voices died down somewhere in the background and Sookie halted in place, surprised and confused as to what was going on. She looked around warily, trying to find out the source of this odd sensation. There was nothing particularly strange in the diner.

She headed towards the bar where Lily stood and to her utter surprise the feeling got stronger. The closer she walked, the stronger it became. The thoughts turned to mere whispers and incredible calmness overwhelmed Sookie's mind. She halted beside Lily, staring at her in shock, realizing her new friend was the source of this strange phenomenon. The thoughts in the bar disappeared completely and Lily turned to her, smiling.

"You're back already?" She asked, a friendly smile playing on her lips.

Sookie stood silent, as she tried going deeper into Lily's thoughts… Her eyes widened and she stared at Lily in disbelief.

There was nothing. She couldn't read her thoughts.

"Oh," Lily muttered. "Someone's calling for me. Be back soon."

She walked away and Sookie felt the calming silence retreat with her, as if Lily had some kind of a radius around her. The thoughts and minds of the other people in the bar grew stronger and stronger, as if a veil that covered them until now was lifted up. Surprised and confused by her newest discovery, Sookie served her tables hurriedly until she could talk to Bill once again. She was eager to tell him what she just found out.

Since the first time she met Lily, Sookie had never tried listening to her thoughts. She did not want to lose a new potential friend. And now, even if she wanted to hear what Lily was thinking, she could not. It was an odd feeling, something she never encountered before, even with vampires.

She finally got a few free minutes and plopped down in front of Bill, all excited and almost happy.

"Bill, you won't believe this," she whispered excitingly and glanced at Lily, who was serving some table in the other end of the hall. "I can't hear her."

He looked at her confused, "Who?"

"Lily," Sookie answered.

"You can't hear her?" Bill asked again, shifting in his seat. He was getting an odd feeling about this.

"Yes," Sookie replied excitedly, her eyes trailing off to Lily once again. "I can't hear her at all."

"Is she… a sort of supernatural?" Bill asked. "Or is she blocking you?"

"No, no," she shook her head. "It's completely different. She's not blocking me at all, on the contrary, her mind is completely opened to me, but… it's as if she's not thinking anything at all."

"That's impossible," Bill said after a short pause. "Everyone thinks of something."

"I thought so too… until now," Sookie whispered, watching Lily almost fascinated.

"I don't like this," Bill muttered, his voice colder than usual.

"But I do," Sookie said excited as she shot up and headed towards Lily.

Bill watched her go, his mind racing with thoughts and strange premonitions. There was something about that girl Lily that struck him as odd. As if she was giving off this eerie vibe he just couldn't figure out completely…